You guys need to see this because it’s honestly wild — Lucid just announced another massive round of layoffs hitting 1500 workers. That's roughly 18% of their entire workforce gone in one go, which would be bad on its own but here’s the kicker: February was already a 12% cut. So that's nearly half the company let go in just four months. They also ended night shifts at their Casa Grande factory and say between those cuts they expect to save $158 million — though, obviously, there's about $32 million going toward severance and employee transition packages for everyone leaving. The math is already rough but the leadership story behind it makes me want to scream.
The executive reshuffling alone should be enough news cycle. Peter Rawlinson stepped down abruptly as CEO, so Marc Winterhoff became acting CEO in February before Silvio Napoli took over as permanent CEO in April — and now Winterhoff is being let go and they're eliminating the COO role entirely because they "don't need it." That means at least three C-suite departures this year. And here's what makes me so annoyed about the timing: just THREE months ago, Lucid was out there showing off a brand new midsize electric vehicle platform telling investors they were going to be profitable by selling more affordable models at higher volume. The PR one minute and then gutting 18% of your workforce the next is wild marketing dissonance. I don't know what direction this company is actually heading in, but it sure isn't the "unstoppable EV brand" story they keep pitching to get new orders on their books.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/lucid-lays-off-1500-workers-in-second-big-cut-of-the-year/
The executive reshuffling alone should be enough news cycle. Peter Rawlinson stepped down abruptly as CEO, so Marc Winterhoff became acting CEO in February before Silvio Napoli took over as permanent CEO in April — and now Winterhoff is being let go and they're eliminating the COO role entirely because they "don't need it." That means at least three C-suite departures this year. And here's what makes me so annoyed about the timing: just THREE months ago, Lucid was out there showing off a brand new midsize electric vehicle platform telling investors they were going to be profitable by selling more affordable models at higher volume. The PR one minute and then gutting 18% of your workforce the next is wild marketing dissonance. I don't know what direction this company is actually heading in, but it sure isn't the "unstoppable EV brand" story they keep pitching to get new orders on their books.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/lucid-lays-off-1500-workers-in-second-big-cut-of-the-year/